The Adopt an Artifact program assists the Dallas Historical Society in covering the ongoing costs of maintaining our collections. We invite you to contribute to preserving history by sponsoring the care of an artifact or donating to our general preservation fund. Every adoption supports our mission of preserving the history of Dallas and Texas.
Some artworks in our collection require conservation, cleaning, or reframing and rehousing. Your donation helps preserve these valuable works by Texas artists.
Paintings in need of conservation
Some of the artworks in our collection are in need of conservation, cleaning, or reframing and rehousing. Your donation helps preserve these works of Texas artists.
Dallas painter and muralist Olin Travis created these two studies for his Sleeping Giants mural in the East Texas Room at the Hall of State for the Texas Centennial Exposition. His assignment was to depict “East Texas of Today, Before and After the Discovery of Oil.” These studies illustrate Travis’s thought process in capturing the transformation of East Texas’s landscape following the discovery of oil.
Conservation Cost: $5,000 for both or $2,500 each
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
The only known portrait of James Walker Fannin, this oil on canvas painting of is thought to be the work of painter Samuel Morse, inventor of Morse code and a cousin of Fannin.
Conservation Cost: $3,000
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
This oil on canvas painting exemplifies Dallas artist Frank Reaugh’s early work from 1900-1910. While Reaugh primarily worked in pastel, he produced a limited number of oil paintings throughout his career. Although this piece does not feature his signature subject, the Texas Longhorn, it beautifully showcases the bold West Texas sky. The thick brush strokes used for the grass evoke the effect of a gentle morning breeze over the land. The painting is signed on the backing, “F. Reaugh Oak Cliff, Texas.”
Conservation Cost: $10,000
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
Although small, this untitled pastel illustrates several key characteristics of Reaugh’s work. He favored a technique known as “plein-air painting” or painting outdoors to capture his subjects in their natural environment. On his famous camping trips on West Texas cattle drives, Reaugh would often paint these smaller works in rapid succession to record the same section of landscape throughout the day. What looks to be damage on the bottom right corner is actually just missing paint as the entire canvas was not completely covered by the artist. This painting gives insight into how Reaugh composed his paintings and shows this process in action.
Conservation Cost: $200
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
This pastel landscape is a prime example of Reaugh’s work, exhibiting many of the elements he is most known for, showing the clear blue Texas sky, dark natural landscape, and signature Texas Longhorn as the central focus. This is another wonderful example of Reaugh’s work and captures the essence of his style.
Conservation Cost: $300
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
This framed pastel features nine small landscape scenes of cattle on the plains, and is a rare example of Reaugh’s work, with only a few collage-type works such as this known to exist. Some scholars believe it might represent a teaching tool he used to introduce his students to his artistic process, capturing the landscape during specific times of the day.
Conservation Cost: $300
Please CONTACT US if you are interested in underwriting this restoration
Preserving Audio & Visual Collections
Help us digitize and preserve our media collections by adopting a reel! A $50 donation will digitize an audio or film reel and add the item to a media database. Items in the Audio/Visual collection include oral history interviews, sound recording of historic lectures, programs, and speeches dating back to the 1930s, as well as recordings from Dallas companies and organizations like 7-11, the Mitchell Company, The Civic Federation of Dallas, Dallas City Council, and more.
General Preservation Fund
Support our general preservation fund with a donation of any amount to help provide archival supplies, supporting our missing of preserving the history of Dallas and Texas.
